The Marriage Preparation Course

Designed to help any couple develop

strong foundations for a lasting marriage

Course runs 5 times throughout the year.

What it is

The Marriage Preparation Course is for any engaged couple who wants to develop strong foundations for a lasting marriage.
Over five evenings spent together you will learn important tools that will enable you to make your marriage work.

About the Course

The Marriage Preparation Course was developed by Nicky and Sila Lee, co-authors of The Marriage Book and The Parenting Book. They have been married for over thirty years, have four children and are on the staff at Holy Trinity Brompton - the London church that started the Alpha course. They started The Marriage Preparation Course in 1985 and The Marriage Course in 1996, and the courses continue to spread with thousands of courses now running around the world.

They have spoken to thousands on the subject of marriage. The Marriage Book which has sold over 150,000 copies since it was published in 2000. They run The Marriage Preparation Course, along with The Marriage Course, three times a year at Holy Trinity Brompton with around 160 couples on each course.

You will look at

  • the importance of commitment
  • how to recognise and appreciate your differences
  • the art of communication
  • resolving conflict
  • spending time together
  • nurturing your friendship
  • making each other feel loved
  • developing a good sexual relationship
  • the importance of talking about your goals, values and dreams

The evenings are very relaxed. There is a meal followed by short talks interspersed with exercises and questions for you to discuss together as a couple.

Session 1 Communication

Effective communication is essential for a strong marriage. Couples learn to recognise how their communication is affected by their personality, their family background and their circumstances. They look at what it means to talk about their feelings and practise listening to each other.

Session 2 Commitment

Commitment lies at the heart of the marriage covenant and is reflected in the marriage service vows. Couples consider the meaning of these vows and then look at how to live out this commitment through making time for each other on a regular basis. They also discuss their relationships with parents and in-laws.

Session 3 Resolving conflict

Conflict can either destroy a marriage or strengthen it if handled well. Couples consider how to handle anger, appreciate their differences, look for solutions together and practise forgiveness. Organising finances, a primary cause of conflict in marriage, is also addressed.

Session 4 Keeping love alive

Love must be deliberately nurtured in a marriage. Couples do this through nurturing their friendship, discovering how the other feels loved and recognising the importance of developing their sexual relationship.

Session 5 Shared values

While appreciating their differences couples need to agree on their goals and core values. They have the opportunity to discuss their priorities for the future, the roles they expect each of them to fulfil and how to build spiritual togetherness.

What’s involved

The course takes place over five evenings.
A typical evening starts at 7pm and finishes by 9.30pm. Each evening includes:

A meal - you will sit together with other engaged couples and a married couple known as a ‘support couple’ (they will be your hosts for the course). You can chat to the others or just use the time to talk to each other. At no time on the course will you have to disclose anything personal to anyone else.

Talk and discussion - each evening a DVD of the talk is played. The talk is broken up with opportunities for you and your fiancé(e) to talk through the issues raised as a couple.

Homework - at the end of each session you are given some homework to do together. This will help you to build on what you have learnt and give you the opportunity to apply it to your relationship. Don't worry - it won't be marked! It isn't looked at by anyone else and is just for your own benefit.

Course dates for 2010 & 2011

Course Number-- Starting Date- ----Finishing Date----

No 5

21st January 2010

18th February 2010

No 6

8th April

6th May

No 7

17th June

15th July

No 8

2nd September

30th September

No 9

4th November

2nd December
     

No 10

20th January 2011

17th February 2011

No 11 78th April 5th May
No 12 16th June 14th July
No 13 1st September 29th September
No 14 3rd November 1st December

Link to relationshipcentral - Australia

For further details please contact the Rector